Archive for December, 2009

We just can’t get enough of everything wedding-related, so we’re always reading wedding blogs and wedding magazines. BrideTide.com is one of our favorite wedding sites, as it keeps us up to date on posts from other wedding blogs and even allows us to cast our “up or down” vote on each article! We’re busy bees around here, so having one site we can go to and stay up to date on all our wedding news and wedding blog posts is such a help.

We hope you’ll visit BrideTide.com, it’s such a great wedding resource! Feel free to submit our posts if you’d like

Winter is traditionally a slow season in the wedding industry, but we absolutely love winter weddings! Despite the occasional weather concern, there’s something very elegant about a wedding in the cold of winter. Let the season inspire you with some of our favorite winter wedding trends:

Heavier fabrics – certain heavy satins and silks might weigh you down in the summer months, but you’ll appreciate the extra warmth in winter.

Winter Wonderland – skip the cheese and create a glittering nighttime gala with sparkling accents. Use a white and silver color scheme with just a touch of blue to create a look that’s breath taking.

Comfort Foods – Create a warm and inviting menu with some classic winter comfort foods and drinks, like spiced cider, delicious soups or heavenly whipped potatoes. Just make sure to only pick one or two heavier dishes so your guests aren’t sluggish and weighed down.

Use candles – nothing creates a warm, comfortable glow like candles. Place a handful of votives on each table and watch the candle light create sparkle and shine as it plays off the rest of your décor!

December is one of the most popular months to get engaged, and chances are if you’re reading this you’re newly engaged yourself! Once the initial glow has worn off and you’ve celebrated with all your nearest and dearest, you might find yourself at a standstill. What to do next? Once you dip your toe into the wedding pool, you quickly realize how overloaded with “stuff” it can be and how quickly you can become overwhelmed.

Before you panic, remember that this is a joyful time! With a little bit of planning, you can make wedding planning a wonderful and memorable experience for your whole family. So let’s get started:

Dream. You and your finance should each sit down and describe your dream wedding. What matters the most to each of you? What season do you see it happening in? What are you wearing? Sketch out everything you’d like your wedding to be and you’ll start to see what’s important to both of you, only one of you, or neither of you. If you have strong opinions on music and he’s picky about location, you can delegate those tasks to each other. Use these sessions to guide you through the rest of your planning process.

Talk budget. How much can the two of you reasonably spend on your big day? It helps to determine your own budget, then factor in what family might be willing to contribute. Figure this out early to avoid disappointment later.

Invest in a planner. Every bride should have some sort of organizational system. There pre-made wedding planners along with file folders, online tools and more to help you keep track of your progress. Keep everything stored together so you don’t lose contracts or other important documents.

Go shopping! Wedding planning can be stressful, but it should also be fun! Have a girls day and go wedding dress shopping, then have lunch. Spend time with your parents browsing through magazines and show them your ideas. Savor each moment!

We love hearing proposal stories! Asking your sweetie to marry you is romantic any time of the year, but there’s something extra special about a Christmas proposal that we can’t get enough of. If you’re planning on getting engaged in the next few weeks, we wanted to share a few of our favorite ways of proposing during the holidays!

Find a unique way to wrap your extra special Christmas gift! You can tuck it in the bottom of her Christmas stocking, or put it inside box after box and make her work for her present. You could even put it inside a giant box and then fill the rest of the box with tinsel or packing peanuts so she has to search for the ring.

Ask her with lights. One of our co-workers recently asked his girlfriend to marry him in the cutest way. She took her family to a local park that does a walk through holiday light display. He was waiting near the end with his own light display that said “Will you marry me?” and completely surprised her! You can do the same thing at your local park, on your house, or even in the back yard.

Hide the ring in your tree, or place it strategically when she’s decorating so that she stumbles across it, and then propose in front of the tree.

What are some of your favorite holiday proposals? Let us know in the comments and we’ll share the best ones!

One of our favorite parts of a wedding (besides the bride) are the adorable flower girls. Everyone “oohs” and “aahs” the flower girl as she walks down the isle in her beautiful little dress. Of course, children are unpredictable and may become easily stressed with all of the hustle and bustle of the wedding day. If you’re having a flower girl in your wedding, the following tips should help both you and her have a wonderful day you’ll always cherish!

Flower girls should attend the rehearsal and as many bridal functions as possible. The more time they spend with the ladies of the wedding party, the more comfortable they’ll feel on the big day.

Younger flower girls should have the option of sitting with their families during the ceremony.

If she’s old enough, let her come along and try on flower girl dresses, and have a say in her look for the big day. It will be a fun bonding experience for you both.

Avoid sugar the day of the ceremony. If she gets hyper, she might have a hard time walking down the isle. If she crashes, she might not be able to go at all!

Get some games and toys for the day of so she can entertain herself during the slow periods of the day.

And the most important thing to remember is – things don’t always go as planned. If your flower girl gets scared or sick or can’t walk down the isle for any reason, that’s ok. You have to expect the unexpected with children and let her know how much you love her and how special it is to have her with you on your big day, no matter the role she ends up playing!